GWS Giants confident AFL’s new rule restricting runners won’t hinder their on-field performance

Some clubs are worried new rules will hinder their chances on the field in 2019, but the Giants are confident their commitment to building free-thinkers will reap rewards when big calls need to be made this season.

The Giants are confident their commitment to building free-thinkers rather than manufacturing robots will reap its reward when big calls need to be made on the run this season.

A hot topic ahead of the new season is the change surrounding runners with several coaches having already expressed their displeasure on the matter.

Runners are only allowed to enter the field of play after a goal has been kicked and they must depart before play restarts.

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That is a big change from previous years where runners could enter during quarters as long as they did not interfere with play.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has already expressed his displeasure over the change with St Kilda’s Alan Richardson also puzzled over the need to change.

GWS coach Leon Cameron and footy manager Wayne Campbell will have to leave it to their players. Pic: Michael Klein

However, the AFL’s general manager of operations Steve Hocking has made it clear there is no going back.

It means there will be more occasions where players will have to make decisions during the heat of battle rather than wait for instructions to be ferried to them. Another reason for the change is to simply reduce the number of people on the field.

While Giants general manager of football Wayne Campbell is not rushing to embrace the change, he does believe the club is as well-equipped as any to have its players make big calls using their own initiative and instincts.

“I think our coach’s view would be that he would be prefer the runner to be there and it’s not that we’ve been planning for ‘this’ for a long period of time,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Some of GWS’s original 2012 squad members, from left, Callan Ward, Jeremy Cameron, Phil Davis, Jonathon Patton, Stephen Coniglio and Toby Greene. Picture: Toby Zerna

“But we’ve put a lot of emphasis on leadership development and empowering the players and teaching the players so that they can make decisions on game day and on the ground.

“So we feel like with a reasonably experienced group that have been together for a period of time, we feel like we’ve been well placed for it, if that makes sense.

“It’s not like we knew it was going to happen but we just don’t have a philosophy of being dictators and just telling them (the players) what to do. We’ve tried to teach them to think for a long period of time. Hopefully that plays out well.”